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Review: Killjoys vs Dark Matter

I honestly can’t pick between them. They’re both so great! They are similar to the point that I think a cross over would be awesome. Each has it’s own background, different characters, and a different plot, but it feels like they are in the same world. The only issue is that they are just similar enough that I sometimes forget which show is which and what event happened in which show. However, it’s not so confusing as to damage my enjoyment of either of them. They are a lot of fun to watch!

We started watching Dark Matter first. A crew wakes up on a space ship (The Raza) with no memories and chaos and distrust begins. It’s interesting seeing how the characters react to situations. With the large number of main characters, they have a lot of room to give us lots of little clues about who they are.

Of the cast, the Android was the only one I immediately recognized. Zoie Palmer played Lauren on Lost Girl, so I already had an attachment to her. The Android is incredibly useful. At some point, I chuckled “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was pissed.” As time went on, I scoffed at the crew for not realizing that the Android had emotions. Little by little, they progress her emotional state, up to the point of an identity crisis (because she’s not supposed to have emotions). The one thing that is starting to irk me, is how often the Android is attacked. She’s been stabbed, shot, electrocuted… really?! How many times are they going to try to kill my fucking Android?! I’m feeling very defensive of the character and I think the crew needs to put more effort into protecting her.

With season two, I have to say that they finally started protecting her more. I like the exploration of sentient androids! I am really interested in following that story.

All the other characters have numbers for names, based off the order they awoke. Two somehow ended up the Captain without me noticing. I must have missed that part. I remember grumping at the tv set “Who made you the boss?! Shut up!” She was initially my least favorite character. She was very bossy, naggy, and really annoying. She plays a lot of mind games and she’s a tease in the worst way. When she had a hissy fit about trusting each other and then the Android called her out for keeping secrets, I added hypocrite to the list of annoyances.

It took me a while to warm up to her… which I did eventually. As we find out more about her secret and who (or what) she is, the intrigue reeled me in. After a while, I had a feel for her and despite her flaws I realized a couple of things: she’s actually very organized and probably the best person to lead the crew, and second, she really kicks ass. She’s tough and incredibly robust, thanks to her genetic modifications (or nanites).

I was gitty to see Wil Wheaton show up as a bad guy, which involves Two’s background story, and I’m curious to see where this goes.

As hot as Melissa O’Neil is, Jodelle Ferland really caught my attention! Five’s just so adorable with her blue-green hair, young appearance, and sweet demeanor… which is a sore point for the character. Everyone treats her like a child that needs to be protected and after a while she starts to get frustrated and acts out. Aside from her innocent nature, she’s a very useful technician and she was used as a conduit to reveal secrets about the rest of the crew. I’m curious about her background, which we don’t know much about her. We know she was a stow away with a boy, who they found dead on the ship. Who were they hiding from and who was that boy to her?

Marc Bendavid plays One – an upper classed guy who was framed for his wife’s murder and changed his face to look like someone else. He believed that Boone killed his wife, who is one of the other characters on The Raza (the ship). He’s been more of the “good guy” on the crew and acts as a moral compass. Once it came out that he had his identity physically altered, it generated some suspicions. It’s been interesting following his story. Each character has their own mystery to solve in addition to the over arching story.

Anthony Lemke plays “Three” (aka Marcus Boone). His is a tragic love story, though I have a feeling that story isn’t done yet. He’s a very cocky mercenary. He reminds me a little of Jayne on Firefly, but not as goofy. He’s the type of character that is selfish and crass on the inside, with a layer of compassion and loyalty underneath. He’s the guy you don’t trust, but it turns out that you can.

Six (aka Griffin) is played by Roger Cross. Just like rest the of characters, he has his secrets and personal story development. He’s very much the protector type, the one looking out the young girl, and trying to keep the innocent safe. He comes off as the level headed character and, like One, has a sense of morality. However, as we’ve seen, he makes mistakes doing what he thinks is right. I’m curious to see how his character develops, given what’s happened in the beginning of season two.

Alex Mallari Jr. as Four, or Ryo Tetsuda, is one of my favorite male characters. He has the stereotypical Asian story, wielding martial arts and a sword, going on about honor. He’s actually quite the badass! He’s very intense and yet quiet. He’s the guy you don’t fuck with. I imagine he could take on any foe and come out victorious. There is a story revolving around his dishonor, but we’ll find out more about that as the story goes on.

New additions to season 2:

Devon Taltherd (portrayed by Shaun Sipos) was a smart addition to the crew. Every group needs a healer! He’s our resident surgeon and life saver. He’s also very cute and kind. I think he’s the replacement for…. well you’ll see. Like of the rest of the crew, he has a dark past that we’ll discover eventually.

Nyx harper (portrayed by Melanie Liburd) is another suped up baddass female on the ship. She’s actually a lot like Two, but she’s more passionate about fighting. She has some superhuman qualities but I doubt it’ll be nanites. That’d make her too much like Two. I doubt she’s an android, because they are already exploring the human-android plot with the actual Android on the crew. Maybe she’s a cyborg? That’s the not the same thing as an android… that’s a human with technology implants. Is she an alien? Oh please be an alien!! Is she just a legit superhuman? So I’m definitely curious about her past and what exactly she is.

And another Lost Girl favorite joins the show as a villain. I loved Kris Holden-Ried as Dyson on Lost Girl. I have to admit that I hold a naughty place in my heart for a good villain. He brings his charm and confidence to the role of Galactic Authority Inspector Kierken. Man it’s going to be so hard to root against him! I am hoping to really enjoy his part in this show.

My only worry about this show is that there may be too many stories. Back in the day I loved True Blood, but then they had so many plotlines going on, it was hard to keep up and I lost patience with it. So far, the mix of stories isn’t so bad. It’s more of an over arching story with some personal plots floating about. It’s good character development, but with a crew of eight mysterious characters, there’s a lot of story to do. I just hope they don’t try too hard to fit everyone in at once. If they focus on one or two characters at a time, this could keep things fresh for a while.

Now lets talk about Killjoys. I wasn’t terribly interested in this show when I first watched it, but after a few episodes it really captured my interest. They too are a badass crew with an over arching plot to unearth. Unlike Dark Matter, it’s just the three of them. There’s Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), an ass kicking woman with a mysterious background. I like that both shows have females in the leading roles. There’s also the brothers John (Aaron Ashmore) and D’avin (Luke McFarlane). John is the more fun loving tech guy, while D’avin is the military manly-man. Yes, there’s a love triangle which is typical. Instead of an android, they have a ship named Lucy with a lot of personality. Lucy is sassy! She creates some comic relief. I really enjoy the interactions with the ship.

I think having a smaller crew gives the audience a more intimate connection. However, I’m with Lucy’s sentiment in season two. They should keep Clara, the human mod. She’s an interesting character and I suspect that we’ll see more of her story again.

Instead of having a million mysterious crew mates, they focus more on the bigger story. By the standards of their culture, they aren’t criminals, they are working legitimately as bounty-hunters. Of course, they do break the rules and undermine the authority, but for the most part they aren’t “fugitives”. It’s a bit more complicated than that. I foresee an uprising… a revolution if you will. I could see this crew being a savior of the Quad (the four planet system they work in).

While the biggest draw to Dark Matter are the mysterious characters, I think the biggest draw to Killjoys is the culture. One is based on personal stories, while the other is more about the world at large. Who knows, maybe there’s more outside of The Quad. What if The Raza is out there in that same world? It would be really cool to see a cross over!